Published: October 25, 2010 4:01 AM

In the 97th District Ohio House race, first-term incumbent Dave Hall, R-Killbuck, is being challenged by Democrat Ed Powers of Wadsworth and independent Gary Aukerman of Jeromesville.

Hall touts his experience, while Powers and Aukerman cite their blue-collar roots and advocate alternative measures for dealing with Ohio's budget woes, partisanship and the school funding issue.

The C-shaped 97th District includes five townships in southern Medina County, all of Holmes County and the Ashland County townships of Ruggles, Troy, Sullivan, Clear Creek, Orange, Jackson, Montgomery, Perry, Mohican and Lake. It was formed in 2000. Before Hall was elected two years ago, the seat was held by Republican Bob Gibbs, who bowed out due to term limits.

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Hall previously served 10 years as a Holmes County commissioner; Powers and Aukerman have not held public office.

Powers and Aukerman say they can relate to wage earners in the manufacturing sector, having both worked in the trenches.

Powers believes that curbing the export of foreign investment will help with job creation in Ohio, particularly in hard-hit Ashland County.

He also said he would be willing to work with Republicans to create a competitive tax system if they are willing to compromise by abandoning House Bill 320, which he believes would end overtime pay in Ohio.

Powers said getting jobs back to Ohio is the key to cutting the state's $8 billion budget deficit.

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He and Aukerman favor scuttling the local levy system and property taxes for funding schools.

Aukerman proposes such out-of-the-box solutions as a 0.25 percent sales tax in each county to fund the schools.

He also would work to cut government spending by rolling back Ohio House districts from 99 to 88, one for each county.

As a business owner -- having started his own collection agency -- Aukerman believes fewer taxes and regulations on business would help jump-start the economy.

He also feels that as an independent with no party ties, he would be free to promote his own ideas.

Hall indicated he would stay the course -- continuing to work on "Future of Ohio Jobs" bills with the legislature.

To fight the deficit, he supports downsizing state government, while avoiding passing those cuts on to local governments.

He cites his experience with county budgets and establishing a working relationship with Republicans and Democrats in Columbus.

His approach to the school funding issue would be to remove unfunded mandates.

n Irv Oslin can be reached at 419-281-0581 ext. 240 or at ioslin@times-gazette.com.